"Floating Island number one thousand, check." Danny double checked his tattered hand-drawn map of the Ghost Zone. Apparently, the islands and lairs drifted to and away from each other often, meaning he'd have to check his map wasn't outdated! The Ghost Zone just keeps on giving.

Danny did a double-take. There was something on the floating island that wasn't there before, according to his map. It was a long blue sword with a purple and green hilt. The hilt even seemed to have purple wings, almost. It seemed to have something inscribed on it. Maybe the owner's name? Maybe if he recognized the name he could return it to the rightful owner.

Danny floated closer to the island, watching the blue sword jammed into the ground on the floating island. Just as he went to inspect it, it started glowing and a whole person floated out the sword.

Danny couldn't help it: he let out a yelp— a very manly yelp, mind you.

The glow subsided and left a figure floating next to the sword and staring at him with a blank gaze. (Not just a blank expression: their entire face seemed made of metal, almost, with eyes the same color as everything else on their face.) Danny found himself tensing up and preparing for battle. He couldn't believe he fell for it! It was now obviously a trap, and he knew enough about the Ghost Zone to feel embarrassed he'd fallen for nothing more than a steak underneath a box held up by a stick.

Granted, the "steak" was a sword and there was no box (thankfully, mind you. He is not complaining and he is not asking for Skulker, or worse, the Box Ghost, to be added to this mess), unless the blue person counted as the box…

The person stared at him impassively. He couldn't see their hands under that large, dual-colored cloak. The person then cocked their head and observed their surroundings.

Their voice had an echo to it, but not in a ghostly way. It felt more grounded than that, like maybe their body was hollow and the sound was bouncing around in there.

"Greetings," they said. "There is no record of this place in my memories."

"Uh… hi?" Danny side-eyed them. "This is the Ghost Zone. You're a floating blue person, I'm sure you know this place."

"I assure you that I do not." Even without any visible eye movements, Danny could tell they were focusing on him. "From your words, I can conclude that you are a wraith. Is that correct?"

"I—" It occurred to Danny that wraith is a synonym for ghost. "Can't you just say ghost?"

The person did not respond, electing to give their surroundings a once-over again.

"This does not seem to be the Eldin Volcano," they muttered.

"Uh, no, this is the Ghost Zone," Danny repeated. Maybe they meant the Ghost Zone Mt. Vesuvius, which was quite a ways away? How did they get here if they belonged on the lairs over there?

"Master is no place to be seen or sensed, either." Danny tensed up entirely.

"Master? Like Vlad Masters?"

Even with the lack of facial expressions, body language, or inflection, the confusion radiating off of the blue spirit was obvious.

"I recognize no such name. Is this Vlad Masters a Lord of this Ghost Zone?"

"No, he's a fruit loop and a pain in my side."

"I detect no injuries on your side."

"It's a phrase."

They nodded. "Very well. Being lost in this Ghost Zone is 'a pain in my side,' so I understand your frustrations." Danny almost let out a chuckle.

"Can you explain more about this Master?"

The spirit seemed to perk up, possibly almost happy about being asked about so-called 'Master'.

"He is truly quite wonderful. At first I was doubtful the Goddess' prophecy was truly referring to him, as easy-going and inexperienced as he was, but he has truly proven himself. Farore's Courage, Nayru's Wisdom, Din's Power… the Goddess was right— Master would do anything to save his friend, although Master is a naturally helpful and open person. I could see him going to such lengths for anyone. It is a wonderful quality to have— the mark of a great Hero."

It was amazing how a voice that lacked tone could still ooze so much adoration and fondness.

"He sounds like a great guy," Danny said. "Who's this Goddess you speak of? The Ancients are not gods."

"The Goddess Hylia." The spirit seemed almost disapproving towards his lack of knowledge about this Hylia. "Master is her Chosen Hero. And I, his faithful guide." The spirit deflated somewhat, noticeably bothered. "At least… that is my purpose. I seem to have lost him in the volcanic eruption. And now I am here, without my Master." They looked back at the sword, still embedded on the floating island. "Without the sword imbued with the power of Her Grace, Master cannot seal Demise and prevent the end of the world. And despite his resourcefulness… with no sword, how can he hope to defend himself?"

Danny nodded along, even though all the names were going over his head. Hylia, Farore, Nayru, Din, Demise?

And he still didn't know the spirit's name.

"What's your name? I'm Danny. Uh, Phantom."

The spirit bowed, posed like a dancer at the end of a performance and expanding their cloak. He still could not see their hands.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Danny. Is your title Phantom? You will have to educate me on what that entails. I am Fi. I am a servant of the Goddess, guide to the Hero, and the spirit who resides in the Master Sword."

"No, like, my full name is Danny Phantom. I guess my 'title' would be Amity's Hero."

"A surname— you must be of quite high status."

"…No?"

Danny's head was starting to hurt. He knew the Ghost Zone operated differently, but Fi seemed to not even know last names were normal.

"A-Anyway, uh… Fi…" No, that felt way too casual for how formal this ghost was being. "Miss Fi?"

"Yes, Danny? I need no honorific."

"Oh, alright. Anyway— maybe I can help you find this Master guy?"

"That would be ideal."

"Okay, then." Danny sat cross-legged in the air. Fi remained where she was. He started thinking. "Do you know how you got here, Fi?"

"Master and I had meant to descend into the Eldin Volcano to find the fire dragon Eldin. However, the volcano erupted and the resulting wind knocked Master out of the sky. He was rendered unconscious on impact and found by monsters. I retreated into my blade and we were separated. I remember being thrown into a chasm, and then it was green and I was here instead of continuing my endless fall."

Danny winced in sympathy at the thought of someone throwing Fi into a bottomless pit. But, he had his answer.

"I think you fell into a natural portal."

That was… both a good and bad thing. Fi was no longer in a bottomless pit, meaning that if they worked together they could reunite Fi with Master and stop this Demise person, who could end the world if Danny had understood properly.

But… Fi had fallen into a natural portal, and finding the right portal that would send them to the right dimension, location, and time… Well, their chances were slim.

He told her as such. He pointed to the many doors and swirls around them. "Any of those could lead to your world, and any of those could also not lead to your world." He sighed. "Sorry, I know that's probably a bummer, but unless your home has a homing beacon you can tune in to, we're out of luck."

Fi surprisingly did not seem disheartened. If anything, she seemed collected. And not even in the "will definitely lose her shit in a bit" way— she seemed to have her shit perfectly together.

"I will add the Eldin region to my dowsing ability."

The sword in the ground glowed. Fi looked at it, and then back at him.

"I have added Eldin Volcano as a dowsing target. However, I cannot wield my own blade. You will have to hold it for me."

Danny stared at it. "Isn't that kind of like touching you?"

"I have given you my permission to wield me until I can be safely retuned to Master."

Danny awkwardly slid the sword out of the ground, and Fi straight up disappeared into it. He barely managed to keep his grip steady but then the sword started beeping and he did drop it back into the ground.

Fi floated out of the sword again, seeming almost dazed.

"I must request that you do not drop me, Danny."

"You didn't tell you that would happen!"

Fi gave him a long look.

"The Courage and Power of the Hero, but none of the Wisdom," she remarked in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Hey!" Danny yelled, indignant. "I'm trying to help you! Just tell me what's going on!"

Fi hovered in front of him, still. Her face stilled as if she had decided something and she began talking.

"The dowsing ability uses data from existing essences to track an object, person, or place," she began. "To dowse effectively, I must remain in the sword. Therefore, I cannot move myself. You will have to hold the sword and follow where the glow and sound are louder. Those are indicators that we are nearing the dowsing target."

Fi finished her explanation and bowed again, spreading her cloak— wait, those were wings. Danny wondered why it hadn't clicked in before. "We should find a door that leads back to my world in that way. Do you understand?"

"Well, yeah, now that you explained. I didn't know you have a built in hot-and-cold feature."

Fi didn't grace him with a response, instead going back into the sword. Danny held the scabbard in one hand the hilt of the sword in the other. The sword glowed weakly and beeped sluggishly. He turned in the air and floated in the direction where the glowing was brightest, adjusting his course every once in a while.

The beeping became near incessant and the glow was almost uncomfortably bright now that they were in front of a circular door with strange symbols on it, including three triangles stacked on top of each other like a pyramid. Which, Danny noted, was also the symbol that was etched onto Fi's sword. Onto Fi? Onto Fi's… home? Oh, whatever. They found the door. It didn't matter how the whole sword person thing worked anyway.

Danny slid the sword back into the scabbard, and Fi flew out of it.

"I am sensing an essence that is almost an exact match with Eldin Volcano beyond this door. There is a ninety-five percent chance that Eldin Volcano is beyond this door."

"And the other five percent?" Danny asked wearily. Fi stared at the door, calculating. How did she even get those numbers?

"Other probabilities include: a place with a similar essence; a world parallel to mine with its own Eldin Volcano; a trick by Demise; and the possibility my dowsing ability is broken after inter-dimensional travel."

Well.

"How far can you fly away from this thing?"

"Not far."

"I don't know if I'll be able to get back into this portal if I go through it. You can check it out, and if it's the right world, I'll just…" he looked at the sword in his hand. "Toss you in so this Master of yours can find you?"

If the idea of being thrown (again) bothered Fi, it wasn't visible on her face. She merely nodded. Link opened the door for her and she flew through it. He kept it open. After about a minute, she floated back up to the door and nodded again, seemingly satisfied.

"Eldin Volcano has recently erupted. There are many monsters, and I sensed Master's presence nearby. I sensed no energies similar to mine. I am inferring that this is the world I belong in. You can proceed with your plan of throwing the Master Sword into this gate."

She seemed to take a second to brace herself. Being thrown into the ground wasn't exactly a pleasant experience. Hell, he should know. He's kissed pavement plenty of times and it's never pretty. Fi bowed towards him, her wings flaring out again and fluttering in a wind that only affected her.

"Thank you, Danny Phantom, Hero of Amity. Because of you, I will be reunited with Master and he will fulfill his destiny of protecting the world from Demise. You have done a great thing. You have my gratitude."

"You're welcome?" Danny smiled at her uncertainly.

Fi did not smile back, but Danny could practically feel her joy radiating off of her in waves.

"I do hope we never meet again," Fi said, but it was warm and polite in essence. Besides, he couldn't really blame her. Natural portals sucked.

"Yeah, I've yet to meet a fan of surprise inter-dimensional travel."

"Farewell, Danny."

"Bye, Fi!" His grin was certain this time, glad for the friend he had met just a few moments ago. Fi disappeared into her sword again, and Danny carefully set her down on the ashy ground of the volcanic region.

As the portal started disappearing, he could've sworn he heard a sigh of relief and running, and the sound of Fi coming out of her sword again and saying Master with relieved joy of her own.

Danny stared proudly at the empty space in the Ghost Zone where the triangle symbol door used to be.

He did a good thing today.


The Goddess' plan is either held together by scotch tape and prayers or managed to account for every possible thing that could possibly happen.

Fi would say it's the latter, but Danny would argue it's the former.